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Team Combat League Gets Boost From DAZN Deal
Midway through its second season, Team Combat League gets a major boost form a new deal with the global streaming platform DAZN announced on Wednesday, June 19.
Starting with the Thursday, June 20 doubleheader at the Thunder Studios in Long Beach, California, select TCL events will be broadcast on DAZN as its “Fights of the Week.”
TCL President Dewey Cooper is a tireless cheerleader for the new format in boxing. Photo: Team Combat League
TCL couldn’t have a more enthusiastic and persuasive cheerleader than its president Dewey Cooper, an experienced combat sports athlete and professional trainer who’s worked at the highest levels, including training MMA star Francis Ngannou for his fights with Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua.
Cooper spoke with NY Fights about the deal and called it a dream come true.
“As you know, anything worth having is never easy,” said Cooper. “But we have some various executives with a lot of contacts and connections. And more importantly, the energy and the efforts to make things like this happen.” While the deal was announced today, Cooper said it’s been a long time in the making.
The first featured doubleheader taking place puts last year’s world champion NYC Attitude (1-3) up against the Las Vegas Hustle (2-2), followed by the Atlanta Attack (2-1) facing off against the LA Elite team (2-1-1). The doubleheader begins at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT. It can also be viewed via TCL Brawl Pass, with a monthly subscription at $7.99.
For a taste of the action, the first eight rounds, known as “Launch Rounds,” can be viewed live on the TCL You Tube channel, including Wednesday’s event at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.
Team Combat League 101
Members of the Dallas Enforcers and Las Vegas Hustle duke it out during a recent event. Photo: Team Combat League
A quick rundown on the format: Teams, including men and women competitors in eight weight divisions (six male, two female), fight 24 individual three-minute rounds. They are split into three periods, eight rounds per each, with a small break in between.
Scoring is identical to traditional boxing, using the 10-point must system. The same judges score rounds individually. The team with the highest total score from the 24 rounds wins. Results are entered in BoxRec.
Cooper calls them 24 12th rounds. “That's exactly how I see it. Championship rounds in boxing are meaningful. Guys really put their last effort to try to, you know, solidify their win many times in these type of fights in the 12th round.
“These guys come out hot, and they come with the will to win in their eyes,” said Cooper.
“We've had several undefeated fighters, 19-0 or 25-1 guys that really underestimate the rules of Team Combat League. They come in here and think, “I'm gonna beat this, easy work!” and they'll lose to a guy coming out of the amateurs. Sometimes, these championship-level fighters used to fighting 12 rounds can’t compute the pace. That's why it's so exciting,” explains Cooper.
Team Combat League Is A Sprint, Not A Marathon
The inaugural season of Team Combat League saw the New York Attitude become its first champion. Photo: Team Combat League
Cooper says the adjustment starts with training. Instead of training for the marathon of a scheduled 12-round fight, TCL participants must think like sprinters.
“Sparring too much is probably a bad thing here,” said Cooper. “You know, guys like to spar six, eight rounds, two or three times a week. That's not necessary here. We recommend that the guys don't spar any more than two to three rounds per session.
“I can't say this enough. You only have three minutes to impose your will and show your skill,” said Cooper.
The unique aspect of TCL is also the team approach and strategy. The coaches choose the matchups ahead of each card, which has a direct impact on whether an individual wins or loses. Top-level trainers involved include Jeff Mayweather (Las Vegas), Barry Hunter (DC), and Manny Robles (Los Angeles).
“These are all things that people want. They understand the strategies and all the different nuances of Team Combat League. We've had so many come-from-behind victories, like the guy hitting the buzzer-beater three-pointer at the end of a basketball game.
“I've seen teams going with two rounds left down by five points. And the last two fighters both get knocked out. That's worth three points each, and they come from behind. We've had so many compelling endings that you just can't recreate, like in normal boxing,” said Cooper.
Did TCL Inspire the 5 vs 5 Format?
Turki Alalshikh presents the $3 million 5vs5 grand prize to Frank Warren of Team Queensberry.
Photo: Mark Robinson, Matchroom Boxing
While he wouldn’t take credit for inspiring the recent successful 5 vs 5 team card in Saudi Arabia pitting Queensberry Promotions vs. Matchroom Boxing, Cooper is a familiar presence in Riyadh, having worked with Ngannou on two cards.
“Turki Alalsheikh, he's the man who thought of the 5 vs 5 idea. I'm not going to say he took our idea. But I will say we've been in business for two years now. We were already a year and a season before that 5 vs 5 was even thought of. But I will say that was a great event,” said Cooper.
“That five on five with Eddie Hearn’s fighters versus Frank Warren’s fighters, I love what they did. But we're the company with a true team concept,” added Cooper.
“Boxing the way Team Combat League does it, you wear the same uniform, you got the same coaches, you're preparing together, and you fight for one another. We have a real team concept. There are strategies involved, and it's up to the coaches to figure out their mastermind ways, but it's a lot different and a lot more intriguing.”
Cooper eventually plans to take TCL global to Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Middle East, Africa, the UK, Russia – “all over the globe, and eventually come with a World Cup of Team Combat League, the All Stars of every country fighting against one another. What country has the best fighters in the world?”
Staying Active A Plus In TCL
Fighters like Shamara Woods and Adrianna Jedrzejcyk can stay busy in TCL and fight three-minute rounds. Photo: Team Combat League
Love or loathe the concept, one benefit TCL has going for it: activity. In boxing, activity matters, and ring rust is a significant problem.
Cooper points out that when amateurs transition to the professional ranks, the downturn in activity can be detrimental. “Many times, you could be stuck fighting four-round fights for two or three years and have one or two fights per year. It’s not good for a young fighter.
“People say, ‘Oh, it's only one round.’ At the end of the day, you're getting your hands wrapped. You're going out in front of a live audience. You're showing on a platform, and you're fighting someone else who you don't know, without the headgear on and the same gloves, and the same commission judges, and the same rules as traditional professional boxing. You're getting experienced faster.
“And you’re getting paid more than you would for a four-round fight in a one-round fight. You’re getting more experience going through the elements when a real fight is on the line, on a growing platform. You can etch your own name with the opportunities we’re giving you.”
Cooper also points out women on each team also fight three-minute rounds. “We think it's disrespectful. We think it’s disingenuous. We think it's asinine that women of today’s stature and ability have to fight two-minute rounds,” adding that women in mixed martial arts fight the same five-minute rounds as the male fighters.
“We really push equal opportunity for men and women. You're a professional boxer, you have to play three-minute rounds and the ladies love it. I see you agree with that!” said Cooper.
Adjusting Boxing For Today’s Audiences
Cooper says TCL is geared for the reality of today’s audiences, while accommodating the Cooper says Team Combat League draws a mix of traditional fans and the younger crowd who’s dabbled with mixed martial arts and alternative formats, which seem more exciting to them.
“We're changing the culture and boxing all around. It's about the era with a short attention span, information at your fingertips, the smartphone era. We're gearing toward that fan base, based on this time now. And I think we're going to be successful at doing it.”
But Cooper says people looking for gimmicks will be disappointed.
“We're a real team professional boxing sport. We're trying to change the culture of what boxing has been,” noting TCL got to work long before wealthy matchmakers in the Middle East.
“We're trying to give you excitement, exciting fights. No, ducking and dodging. No business over boxing. The best fighters in the league fight each other. I really feel we have captured real true sportsmanship and competition with Team Combat League,” said Cooper.
Taking A Punch and Pushing On
Cooper admits it hasn’t always been easy. He’s taken a few punches he didn’t see coming,
“Sometimes things don't turn out the way you seem. One thing I know, any new company starting out, whatever its setbacks, will have its disappointments.
“But as long as we stay strong, unified, we keep our common goals in place, and keep looking at the positives and keep trying to improve our product. DAZN is part of that improvement.
Asked if anything has been a surprise to Cooper along the way, he said, “It's been a very exhilarating season. Much more effective than the first season. A lot of things went wrong this year. A lot of things went right this year, but we're still pushing strong. We're happy about where we are as a company, and we see bigger things in the future.
“And I just can't wait to people see this all unfold, and Team Combat League become the cornerstone in the sport, and the team sports market – not just America but around the globe.”
